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Monday, January 26, 2009

Apparently, Fernando Verdasco wasn't listening to the pundits about town.

The Spaniard, who served bagels the other day, pulled off a huge upset at the Aussie Open today ousting top fave Andy Murray 2-6, 6-1, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the fourth round. Nando was at his aggressive best balancing 50 errors with 51 winners, hitting, 74% success on first serve deliveries, and throwing down 10 aces. He'll face last year's finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who defeated James Blake, for a spot in the semifinals.

The 25-year old was understandably excited to reach his first Grand Slam quarterfinal in Melbourne:

Yes, for sure. It was, like I said, I think the second day, for me it was one of the biggest goals for be in quarterfinals for first time in Grand Slam. And I was feeling with big confidence and pretty fit. So I was with confidence to be in quarterfinals for first time. And for sure right now I am so happy, no, to make this goal possible.

He also revealed he was given some "secret" advice from a certain tennis legend during his successful off-season training trip to Las Vegas where he worked with Gil Reyes:

...Agassi came to say hi to me, and I was speaking with him. I don't want to say what he told me, because that's secret (smiling). But really helped me so much. I was speaking with him two hours before he left for the mountains. He was leaving with Steffi to enjoy Christmas.

You know, he was going to ski. I love ski. I was there in the gym working hard, so I was a little bit jealous. But I was just thinking to be ready for the season and start good the year. You know, right now I'm so happy that I took that decision to go to Las Vegas and practice with Gil.

I will go again now. I will go back to Spain to see my family, and then I will go to Vegas for another two weeks to keep working hard there with him ‑ maybe Agassi also. Keep learning, keep improving for Dubai, Davis Cup and Indian Wells and Miami, to be ready.

And what of Anando? Why isn't the same success happening for ex-girlfriend Ana Ivanovic??

Good question. You know, I don't know. I think you should ask Ana more than me about this.

I don't think that is my fault. This is what I think, you know. If you want to know something more, I think you should ask her, no? I don't like to speak about other persons.

No it's not all your fault - I mean, Ana's issues started way before you two started dating each other.

His body language these days says it all... he knows he can win and that's refreshing to see. Plus he just played really well and I was super excited to see him advance - sorry Murray die-hards :( But what a great moment for him to get to his first Slam quarterfinal :)

I like that he won't talk about Ana though, at least he is a gentleman.

coughingcat - I don't think it's fair to say Andy is arrogant at all. I think he's confident, yes, deservedly so, but so far he has been very, very diplomatic regarding his statements. Andy's got a LONG way to go before he gets as arrogant as Fed.

Yeah I wouldn't say Murray is arrogant at all. There's a big difference between being arrogant and being confident, and I think Andy is the latter. He's also handled himself extremely well in terms of reacting to Fed & Nole's comments regarding his worth as a favorite at the AO. He's a great player and he deserved to be talked about, IMO. That said, yes I was excited for Fern to win the match, it was a great moment for him, but part of me does feel for Murray...not getting to at the least the quarters is probably hard on him.

"it's fun to yell out things like "Yeah Tabasco!" and "HOT SAUCE!" during his matches."

or my new fave "You put the chorizo in my paella". kinda hits the spot, no?

I don't think Andy's arrogant but he got a lot of shit for what the bookies and pundits were saying. He was right in feeling confident he could win but he never said he was THE fave. But in any case, he's out and ultimately that's all that matters now.

Onto the Rafa-Gilles matchup: Rafa is looking subime right now so it's hard to see Sneaky Simon upsetting him. That being said, he's still Sneaky Simon so he may have some things in store for The Bull.

Sneaky Simon will slither slowly away. Ok, I'm not good at the alliteration today. I was up late watching Murray lose. Yay!! Murray is just learning how hard it is to do what Rafa and Fed have been doing for years to stay on top of the competition.

LOVE IT. That sign was hilarious! And very fitting for Tabasco. Muy caliente!! ;)

As for the Rafa/Gilles matchup - Rafa's got this one in the bag. It's best of 5 and he's in much better form than in Madrid. Simon is def sneaky, but no way is he snatching this from that sexy Matador! :)

It's pretty cute how Fernando talked about Ana in the press conference. "It's not my fault!"

I bet he's not regretting it too much, though. These players would take success on the court over romance any day. Too bad for Ana, now she has neither - but it would drive me crazy to see her go out early just to sit and clap in Nando's box a la Vaidisova or Safarova. No thanks.